Unsurprisingly, when Lang Lei slowly opened his eyes, Snow Empress and Ice Empress's exquisitely sculpted faces still greeted his vision.
"Lang Lei, how are you feeling right now?" Snow Empress asked softly, a hint of concern showing in her eyes.
Lang Lei's lips curved up slightly, revealing a reassuring smile as he replied, "I feel great right now, Sister Xue, Sister Bing, don't worry about me."
Seeing this, Ice Empress couldn't help scolding reproachfully, "Geez, why do you always close your eyes out of nowhere, you guy! You scared the hell out of Xue'er and me!"
Lang Lei rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and explained, "Sorry for the trouble, Sister Bing, I didn't know why that happened either... If I have any situations after this, I'll definitely let you know in advance."
This sudden eye-closing was mainly because of that Silver Dragon King Gu Yuena's abrupt intrusion; otherwise, he wouldn't have closed his eyes for that long. Absorbing the origin and divine power within the dragon scale was secondary instead.
Ice Empress gave a light snort and continued, "You, you're just someone who doesn't give people peace of mind! We didn't dare to disturb you easily for fear of affecting you, yet we worried you might run into any accidents."
Warmth welled up in Lang Lei's heart, and he hurriedly said, "I'm really sorry for making you all worry."
He noticed that Ice Empress wasn't putting on her usual haughty act this time; it seemed these consecutive events really had her feeling somewhat anxious.
Snow Empress also chimed in, "The Star Dou Great Forest is filled with all kinds of dangers. If Bing'er and I weren't by your side, acting this casually would probably have attracted a pack of soul beasts long ago. So, whenever you're alone here from now on, you must be extra careful and never absorb just anything!"
Lang Lei nodded earnestly and answered, "Mhm, I know, Sister Xue, I'll pay attention."
Lang Lei used his hands to prop up his body with difficulty and slowly sat up from the ground. He only felt that though the soul power inside his body seemed somewhat sluggish due to the sudden addition of an unfamiliar attribute, it had already stabilized much compared to before.
He instinctively touched his chest, where that reverse scale containing the Silver Dragon King's origin should have been suspended. At this moment, however, that reverse scale had vanished without a trace.
"That dragon scale..." A hint of puzzlement showed in Lang Lei's voice.
Before his words faded, Snow Empress off to the side suddenly pointed in surprise at the grass beside him and said, "It's over there!" Her voice carried distinct astonishment.
Hearing this, Lang Lei hastily looked in the direction Snow Empress pointed, and sure enough, that dragon scale was lying quietly on the grass, emitting a faint glow.
"But how could it be over there?" Snow Empress's brows tightly furrowed, her face full of incomprehension. You must know that she and Ice Empress had been focusing all their attention on Lang Lei, not even daring to blink at the same time for fear of missing any single detail. Yet how could that dragon scale suddenly appear there without them noticing a thing?
Lang Lei felt equally baffled. He stared at that dragon scale, pondering inwardly. After all, this thing wasn't an ordinary item; it was a reverse scale containing the Silver Dragon King's origin, possessing quite powerful might and divinity.
Thinking of this, Lang Lei decided to fetch the dragon scale first. After all, this thing could be considered a precious treasure to him; if Aili could absorb the power within it, who knew, it might even speed up her martial soul transformation rate.
Thus, Lang Lei prepared to get up and pick up that dragon scale. However, right as he moved his body, that dragon scale suddenly emitted an extremely dazzling light, instantly illuminating the entire patch of grass.
Lang Lei was startled by this sudden radiance and instinctively closed his eyes. By the time he opened them again, the scene before his eyes almost made his eyeballs pop out.
"Ah! Lang Lei, you're not allowed to look!" Elysia's startled cry rang out abruptly in Lang Lei's mind like a thunderclap, dizzying him and instantly drowning his vision in a rich pink light.
Before Lang Lei could recover from this sudden turn of events, a pair of soft, small hands swiftly covered his eyes like lightning, making him completely lose his vision. At the same time, a piercing chill swept in from all directions, as if wanting to freeze his entire person solid.
Lang Lei mentally cursed his bad luck, for the first time feeling that having fast reactions wasn't necessarily a good thing... or was it a good thing after all? Just as his mind was wandering, Ice Empress's voice reached his ears: "Lang Lei, do you have clothes in your Storage Soul Tool?"
Lang Lei steadied himself slightly and hurriedly replied, "I do."
As he spoke, he flusteredly rummaged through his Storage Soul Tool to pull out a set of clothes he didn't usually wear.
When Lang Lei took the clothes out, a trace of imperceptible awkwardness couldn't help welling up on his face.
However, Lang Lei had no time to mind these things right now; he only hoped Ice Empress and Snow Empress would quickly let go of their hands and let him regain his freedom.
Finally, after a long wait, Ice Empress slowly released her hand covering Lang Lei's eyes. Lang Lei breathed a sigh of relief and hastily opened his eyes.
Yet when he saw the scene before him clearly, he couldn't help freezing—a huge snow fortress stood before him, resembling a dreamy ice and snow castle.
"Follow me." Ice Empress gave a light snort, seeming somewhat displeased with Lang Lei's reaction. She turned around without looking back and walked into the snow fortress, leaving Lang Lei standing in place, scratching his head with an awkward expression.
Lang Lei sighed helplessly, temporarily pushing Elysia's teasing in his mind aside, and stepped forward to follow Ice Empress into the interior of the snow fortress.
Where the dragon scale was originally placed, a little girl of about four or five years old was currently sitting.
The little girl's hair cascaded down to her waist like a silver waterfall, the tips still stained with the unique morning dew of the Star Dou Forest, crystal-clear and resembling pearls. That silver hair shimmered with a faint glow under the sunlight, forming a stark contrast with the surrounding green and blue.
Her pair of eyes were a pure purple, and what was most bizarre was that a faint golden radiance lingered around the little girl's entire body. The swirling patterns of that golden radiance were identical down to the last detail to the divine power imprint on the dragon scale. This golden radiance connected tightly with her body like a second layer of skin, adding a sacred and mysterious aura to her.
However, once Lang Lei walked into this place, those divine patterns strangely vanished as if they had a life of their own. It was as if they had only manifested briefly to welcome Lang Lei's arrival, and now having completed their mission, they quietly faded away.
What surprised Lang Lei even more was that, apart from being younger, the silver-haired girl before his eyes looked strikingly similar to Gu Yuena, whom he had previously encountered in his spiritual sea. The same silver hair and purple eyes, the same refined and ethereal look, even that faint temperament was carved from the same mold.
Seeing Lang Lei look over, the little girl gently grasped the grass blades in front of her, seeming somewhat nervous. Her voice was as soft and smooth as newly melted snow water, carrying a trace of innocence and curiosity: "Are you... the one who 'woke' me up?"
"Gu Yuena?"
But to Lang Lei's surprise, the girl's eyes were actually filled with bewilderment.
"Gu Yuena... who is that?"
Before you continue